The Minerals and Waste Planning Team provide a pre planning application advice service for prospective applicants.  The service can help you understand:

  • whether or not a planning application proposal is acceptable in principle in light of planning policy so it saves you the time and cost of preparing and submitting a formal application for what could be a proposal that is not acceptable
  • the planning policy requirements and expectation in respect of your proposal
  • the need for specialist advice or issues that need to be addressed - pointing out any third parties you should get advice from
  • identify the likely key issues
  • how an application proposal could be improved
  • how to prepare your planning application and make sure that all the necessary plans and supporting documents are sent with your planning application
  • any likely requirement for contributions to be made by the developer (for example: for biodiversity net gain, sustainable travel contributions or extraordinary expense incurred in the expected maintenance of roads in light of high volumes of HGV traffic)

Pre planning application advice can reduce the time that you and your professional staff / consultants spend working up your proposals providing you take all the advice into account then a subsequent planning application would stand in good stead to be assessed without any unnecessary delay.

Details of different levels of pre-application service and their cost 

To apply

Complete the pre-planning application advice request form (PDF 165KB) and supply the necessary supporting information to MWPlanning@Cumberland.gov.uk

When you have sent a request form an officer will respond to you about payment arrangements.

Important information about the service

  • While we always aim to provide an impartial and professional response to all enquiries, any advice given by officers during pre-application discussions cannot prejudice the council's final decision on your proposal when a planning application is submitted. All planning applications will be subject to consultation with the public and statutory consultees and may be subject to consideration by the council's Planning Committee. The advice given is of an advisory nature only and cannot be regarded as binding upon the Local Planning Authority
  • The level of advice that you receive will be based on the level of information that you submit to us
  • While accurate and up-to-date advice will be provided it should be noted that planning legislation, policy and guidance can change over time and this might affect the advice given. It is therefore important to act in a timely manner after the advice. We will endeavour to advise you of any potential changes we are aware of at the time of your enquiry that may affect your proposal.
  • While we will seek to identify statutory consultees that should be consulted in respect of your proposals we cannot provide advice on their behalf. Statutory consultees e.g. the Environment Agency may have their own procedures and charges for giving pre-application advice which you may have to pay in addition to the fee for the advice we provide
  • Whilst we can provide advice that will assist you in developing the design for your proposals we cannot assist in the drawing up of plans
  • Our pre-application advice service relates only to issues associated with the planning requirements for the development. While we will aim to highlight where additional consents may be needed, for example - Environmental Permits or building regulations approval, you will be responsible for seeking your own advice on all other consents that may be needed
  • We will normally treat all pre-application enquiries confidentially until a planning application is submitted. However, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 includes a presumption in favour of disclosure of information, including pre-application discussions, unless such disclosure would cause adverse impacts. This may mean we have to reveal the details of your enquiry, and the advice given, if a request is received under the Freedom of Information Act. If you have a reason for requesting that your enquiry should remain confidential, for example on the grounds of commercial confidentiality, please let us know prior to your pre-application enquiry being submitted.